1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color image scanning and printing device which scans an image of an original document, and prints out a color image based on the obtained image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
A multifunction facsimile machine (facsimile multifunction peripheral) exists that includes a transmission function and a printer function, in addition to the conventional copy function and facsimile function. The transmission function is a function to transmit data transmitted from a Personal Computer (PC) to another facsimile machine when the multifunction facsimile machine is connected to the PC via a communications network such as a Local Area Network (LAN). The printer function is a function to print out the data transmitted from the PC.
Accompanying an extension of the printer function, a color image scanning and printing function is included with the facsimile multifunction peripheral. For example, the color image scanning and printing function is executed as follows. An image of an original document is scanned by a color Charge Coupled Device (CCD), and image data (Red Green Blue (RGB) or Lab) of the obtained color system is once stored to a multilevel memory. Then, the image data fetched from the multilevel memory is converted into printing binary image data of a plurality of color components, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK (CMYK). The converted image data is stored to a binary memory, and the color image is printed out on a paper in accordance with the image data fetched from the binary memory. There are many proposals made regarding management and control for transmitting the image data of the four color components, CMYK, to a printing unit.
Such a color image scanning and printing function requires a conversion process for converting the obtained RGB or Lab image data into image data of the CMYK color components for printing. Therefore, when the conversion process is not carried out efficiently, a time lag generates with respect to the printing process, and a long period of time is taken for the entire scanning and printing processes.